More than a game, Florida basketball team anxious to meet troops

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Florida’s basketball team will learn a great deal about itself when it plays Georgetown on the deck of the USS Bataan in the inaugural Navy-Marine Corps Classic.

The players will also learn a great deal about their country.

The 10th-ranked Gators will play the Hoyas on Friday night aboard the amphibious assault ship at Mayport Naval Station. The 9 p.m. game will be played with roughly a thousand active soldiers in the crowd of 3,500.

Florida coach Billy Donovan believes his players will develop a greater understanding of the sacrifice being made by the military to protect the country by seeing firsthand how many of the troops are the same age as the players.

The lesson is one the Gators are anxious to take in.

“This is a privilege for us to meet them,” Florida senior guard Kenny Boynton said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Both teams will get a chance to familiarize themselves with the Bataan and the men and women serving on the ship Thursday. Florida and Georgetown will each conduct a shoot around Thursday evening in front of military personnel. The Gators’ session is at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Hoyas at 6:45 p.m. UF is leaving Gainesville at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and will spend most of the day at the base.

On Friday, the teams will meet to begin their respective seasons in a game featuring two teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season. The Gators advanced to the Elite Eight; the Hoyas lost in the third round.

“I’m very appreciative that we get this opportunity to play in front of them,” said Florida junior center Patric Young, a Providence School graduate.

“They spend long periods of time away from their families. Having this opportunity to watch us up close and play, it’s a great opportunity for us to perform for them and to give back to them and an opportunity for them to have some fun.”

Florida’s team has several members with military connections. Donovan’s father, Bill Donovan, served in the Army. UF assistant coach Matt McCall’s father, Wayne McCall, served in the Army as did his father-in-law Eddie Rios, a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Michael Frazier, the father of Florida freshman guard Michael Frazier II, served in the Army during the Persian Gulf War.

There are 15 other members of UF’s traveling contingent consisting of coaches, players, training and support staff that have a personal tie to the military.